The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act

by Kieron Gillen

Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critical tongue-attractors like Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to create a world where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forev...

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Title

:

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act

Author

:

Kieron Gillen

Rating

:

Edition Language

:

English

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act Reviews

Hershey

Well, hello, gorgeous cover!

The Wicked and the Divine has a very interesting concept. It's like a rough spin on something we're are all completely familiar with: Pop Stars. They're everywhere, they are addicting, they are our idols. In this beautifully illustrated graphic novel,

Everyone would love to be them, they worship them but alas, they die within two years. They can have all their glory and fame only for two years and they get rei

Well, hello, gorgeous cover!

The Wicked and the Divine has a very interesting concept. It's like a rough spin on something we're are all completely familiar with: Pop Stars. They're everywhere, they are addicting, they are our idols. In this beautifully illustrated graphic novel,

Everyone would love to be them, they worship them but alas, they die within two years. They can have all their glory and fame only for two years and they get reincarnated after ninety years.

Don't ask me why. The first volume didn't go into the very fine details of their existence and their reincarnations and all the hows' and whys' but I'm hoping the later volumes would clear all these questions.

This graphic novel contains a lot of characters, most of them are Gods from different religions and folklores. I wasn't too familiar with the Gods themselves but Wikipedia is always our dear old friend.

Meet Laura, our very easy-to-relate to main character:

Laura is human. She's a die-hard fan of the Gods. And she would do anything to be one of them. I can completely understand her. It's always very nice when your main character is easy to understand and connect with.

The story starts off with Laura attending a concert where she is completely mesmerized with a God named Amaterasu who is a sun goddess according to the Japanese mythology. Among the twelve Gods mentioned in this book, she is the only one with a lot of patience and kindness.

Isn't the artwork just utterly beautiful?

It was during this concert that a very famous goddess named Luci (short for Lucifer) speaks to Laura. This incident immediately pulls our main character into a series of completely mysterious events in which Laura is very happy to help the Gods because all she ever wanted was a taste of their powers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I, most of all, loved the artwork. Heck, I think I'm going to sketch these characters because they're so damn beautiful. It's the best artwork I've seen so far.

Just look at the beauty! My fingers are itching for my pencils!

The characters in this book are from different races and they are completely unique and extremely gorgeous and most of them are female. The diversity in these characters is something I also loved very much about because it is quite rare to have so many characters from different races in a graphic novel. These characters stretched and grew so much in this book, it was just so fascinating to watch them.

I feel like this book tries to tell us that celebrities are just as influential as religion and what good we get out of it is the biggest ambiguous question here. Gillen has taken on a very intriguing concept which will stay on the readers mind long after reading.

The characters, to be specific, the Gods are diverse in this book and now I will try my best to explain what powers they have and which mythologies they originate from. (Don't let this extra reading scare you away.)

The Prince of darkness and all things evil is portrayed as an androgynous woman in this graphic novel. She's a very interesting character who is still exploring her various capabilities. I think all the gods are trying to understand how much they can extend themselves. Remember, they didn't sign up for this.

Like I mentioned earlier, she is a sun goddess and also one of the kindest among the Gods. She has two brothers, Susanoo who is mentioned briefly in the beginning and Tsukuyomi who is not mentioned so far. According to his book, she spreads this addictive kind of euphoria while she sings in her concerts and that's one of the reasons why everyone just simply adores her.

Doesn't she look a bit like Rihanna?

Sakhmet is the lion headed goddess from the Egyptian mythology who is associated with vengeance, warfare, healing and various other things. We don't see much of her in this volume as much as I wanted to.

:

The Morrigan is undoubtedly one of the most interesting characters in this book. She could be extremely confusing if you don't know Irish mythology. She is three people. She switches according to her mood. She's known as the Phantom Queen and is considered to be the goddess of battle and death and also is said to take the form of a crow. It is also said that she can tell who would live and who would die in a battle and this was an inspiration to a very common mythical creature called a banshee whose screams also predict death.

I really liked this character a lot. She was so very intriguing and I cannot wait to know more about her.

He's kinda hot, isn't he?

He's known as the False God and is associated with paganism and witchcraft. We encounter him briefly in the book.

The name Baal is not a specific god but it's used as Semitic term to any god worshipped in the Near East. His symbol is a goat and I honestly don't know much about him. He does make quite a few appearances in the book and his various powers are yet to be known.

She is the destiny decider and a very, very powerful person. She is portrayed as a protector of the Gods in this book and all the decisions regarding them are made by her.

There are several other Gods but they haven't been mentioned a lot in this book and I'm hoping the later volumes will have more info about them.

Even though there are lots to be researched about these gods, I think this is a pretty incredible graphic novel. It would be amazing as a movie or a TV show. (Please make it a movie or a TV show!) I know for certain that this is one of the best graphic novels I've read in 2014 and I very highly recommend it.

____________________________________________

A little something I drew from this gorgeous comic. (There will be lots more! I can't wait to sketch the rest of the characters!)

Melissa ♥ Dog Lover ♥ Martin

As you can read from the blurb, these gods come back every 90 years to be on Earth for 2 years and then I guess they die or whatever. I don't understand all of those reasons or why they come back every 90 years but who cares. The story is so different and the artwork is amazeballs.

This time they come back as pop stars. Bwhahahhaha, sorry, I just think that is hilarious!

We have Laura who is a fangirl and wants to be with them and she befriend

As you can read from the blurb, these gods come back every 90 years to be on Earth for 2 years and then I guess they die or whatever. I don't understand all of those reasons or why they come back every 90 years but who cares. The story is so different and the artwork is amazeballs.

This time they come back as pop stars. Bwhahahhaha, sorry, I just think that is hilarious!

We have Laura who is a fangirl and wants to be with them and she befriends Lucifer (Luci) for short.

I thought the character of Luci being a woman Lucifer was cool too! And she seemed to like Laura, but who ever really knows.

I didn't really like that ending. I was like . . what the! But, who knows what's going to happen in the next one. It might get better. Once again, amazing artwork to make up for anything else.

Looking forward to the rest of the novels!

MY BLOG:

Lola Reviewer

Oh my sweet goodness, this is one comic I feel I will get addicted to. I usually relatively like those, but this is incredibly beautiful and so well thought of. How can one resist the beauty that is uncovered in this first issue?

I never read something quite like this. The plot is extremely powerfully emotion-filled and contains a wonderful main character that has qualities and weaknesses, but I just couldn’t help but connect with her, since she is so

and absolutely relatable.

If there’s one

Oh my sweet goodness, this is one comic I feel I will get addicted to. I usually relatively like those, but this is incredibly beautiful and so well thought of. How can one resist the beauty that is uncovered in this first issue?

I never read something quite like this. The plot is extremely powerfully emotion-filled and contains a wonderful main character that has qualities and weaknesses, but I just couldn’t help but connect with her, since she is so

and absolutely relatable.

If there’s one thing I look forward to seeing inside a comic or graphic novel is definitely art that will be pleasurable to watch. And this has every ounce of it. A very talented artist drew this comic.

Surprisingly, I would have still given a good rating, even if the illustrations would have turned out to be so-so. It has that kind of plot that just hooks you. To be honest, it is pretty confusing at first and it took me 3 chapters to really get into the story and begin to understand the meaning of who the gods (presented) were and why they were there and what was their role.

I’m still not sure what powers and who every god really is, but I nonetheless feel like everything will be more clear when I’ll read the sequel, since, at the end of the story, I felt like it all started to slowly unravel itself. I just wish we would see more of the different gods. The only one that is very present is Luci. At least, her, I had no problem understanding.

At first, the pacing is slow. Very normal, since the author does need to introduce us to his story and world, of which to begin with we do not know everything about. He did this in a great way but, like I said, there are so many gods that it can get confusing. However, things pick up and, when the action starts, it is really good. Even before that, there is a mystery case going on and when Laura, the main character, was trying to get the bottom of it, I was hooked. She deeply wanted to uncover the truth, and I wanted the same thing – craved for it.

The world-building, except for the characters, is pretty typical, since it takes place in our world and century. The settings though are interesting and well drawn.

Of what I have deciphered of the romance in this book, for it isn’t quite clear and there isn’t much of it, there is an F/F couple and an M/F one for that matter. It is a little weird to tell you the truth, the F/F one, since they obviously have a great difference of age, but perhaps that is only in appearance? I would like more romance in the sequel, of preference between Laura and Baal, since they seem to be fitting well and they could have a good chemistry I believe, if only they would naturally spend more time together.

Overall, a wonderful read that is almost impossible to not enjoy for there is everything you may like: fantasy, mythology, sci-fi, mystery, intensity and a little ounce of romance. Highly recommended!

Raeleen Lemay

This was great! I'm definitely going to pick up the next volume soon because DAMN. THAT ENDING.

Also, A+++ for all of the diversity in this comic series.

Kat O'Keeffe

Great art and really cool premise, though it was a bit hard to follow at times. Definitely want to continue on with this comic series, though I'm hoping volume 2 has more world building!

Jesse (JesseTheReader)

I enjoyed this, but I found it difficult to follow at times and it felt rather undeveloped. I definitely want to continue on with this series, but I can't deny that I wasn't very impressed with this first volume.

Regan

2.5

Anne

2.5 stars

had this special

about it that kept me interested the entire time I was reading it.

But once I finished, I was like...

Even now, I'm not sure I read the same book that seems to have captured the hearts of most of my friends.

So this one is about gods who show up every so often, live for a few years, and then die. I'm not sure if they kill themselves when their time is up, or if they just explode when the timer goes beep. But for whatever reason

2.5 stars

had this special

about it that kept me interested the entire time I was reading it.

But once I finished, I was like...

Even now, I'm not sure I read the same book that seems to have captured the hearts of most of my friends.

So this one is about gods who show up every so often, live for a few years, and then die. I'm not sure if they kill themselves when their time is up, or if they just explode when the timer goes beep. But for whatever reason they aren't given a long life span.

This time around they're celebrities. Of the Reality TV/Pop Star sort...

And the story is told through the eyes of a fangirl who inserts herself into the whole mess after getting

at a concert.

There's a murder, and one of the gods (Lucifer) goes to jail. Which leads us to a subsequent Scooby Doo

investigation to prove her innocence, spearheaded by the doe-eyed teenager.

The young adult version of these gods was fairly unlikable (again, think of reality tv stars), but not nearly as annoying as their obsessed fan.

I found the plot sort of nonsensical and confusing, but I thought it would all come together at the end. And it

, a

.

Just not enough for me to want to rave about it.

But I just didn't love-

this one.

However, with everyone else singing its praises?

Well, it looks more like a case of

, and less like

As I mentioned, it wasn't until I was done that I realized I didn't care for the story. Up till then, I was pretty entertained.

Also, the artwork was lovely and vibrant, so there's

.

If you think this might be something you'd be interested in, check out the glowing reviews from my friends

&

.

PS- Thanks, Mike!

Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ Rabid Reads

SO. Every ninety years a bunch of gods take over the bodies of a bunch of teenagers to live as pop stars for two years before they die.

Riiiiight. B/c gods have nothing better to do than become Taylor Swift. Fame is everything. Worship. Adulation.

Whatever, I'm bored.

Know what else is boring? They don't use their god-like powers b/c it will scare the puny humans.

Is it just me, or are these the lamest gods ever?

Except f

SO. Every ninety years a bunch of gods take over the bodies of a bunch of teenagers to live as pop stars for two years before they die.

Riiiiight. B/c gods have nothing better to do than become Taylor Swift. Fame is everything. Worship. Adulation.

Whatever, I'm bored.

Know what else is boring? They don't use their god-like powers b/c it will scare the puny humans.

Is it just me, or are these the lamest gods ever?

Except for Lucifer.

When a rooftop of zealots (at least that's what I'm assuming they were, b/c their animosity is never really explained) opens fire on a gathering of the godlings, Luci says, to hell with that! and explodes their heads with a snap of her fingers.

She's then arrested--how dare she kill the men who'd been trying to kill her--and Luci is taking the situation about as seriously as I am, until while jokingly threatening the judge with another finger snap, the man's head actually explodes.

Whodunnit?

That's the question, isn't it?

To the detriment of everything else.

Why every ninety years? Why are they dead within another two? Why aren't they always the same gods? Where do all the other gods go? How are the teenagers chosen? Why pop stars?

Who cares?

Just make the god groupie satisfactorily indignant, throw in a hot vampire-looking death god, make a few jokes, blow some shit up, and we'll forget all but one of the unanswered questions.

But guess what? By the end of vol. 1, we still don't know who killed the judge.

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE . . . was a lot of shiny distractions with periodically deadpan dialogue to mask the lack of substance in the plot. Not impressed. Not recommended.

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The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen

Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critical tongue-attractors like Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to create a world where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forev......